Rohm launches MMA based on ISCC PLUS Certified Raw Materials

MRC -- Rohm’s MMA with Sustainable Raw MaterialRohm launches resource-saving alternative to their long-established methyl methacrylate (MMA), said Specialchem.

For MERACRYL® proTerra MMA, 30 percent fossil raw materials are substituted by sustainable raw materials from circular, recycled or biogenic sources, certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification ISCC PLUS.

The product’s carbon footprint is reduced by 25 percent. Rohm guarantees the same specifications, quality and reliable processes.

“As European producer we are thrilled to provide a sustainable solution to our customers to support their sustainability goals,” said Hans-Detlef Luginsland, senior vice president, Bulk Monomers.”

Sustainability is an integral part of Rohm’s global business strategy. By the year 2050, Rohm aims to become climate-neutral by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

A first milestone on this path is the ‘Track 2030’ initiative with the goal of significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from the production or sale of Rohm products. The company has set itself an ambitious goal with the target of 30 percent per ton compared to 2020.

Rohm’s proTerra brand suffix is the quality seal for sustainable products and services that were made from sustainable raw materials, make a significant contribution to promote the circular economy and that save resources, such as raw materials, energy or water.

We remind, Roehm announced the opening of its flagship Innovation Center. This “Center of Excellence” is equipped with a state-of-the-art materials development laboratory, featuring advanced processing capabilities for material compounding, injection molding, and extrusion.

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MRC -- Chemicals company Dow has launched two new ionomers grades using renewable and circular feedstocks for perfume and cosmetic packaging applications, said Sustainableplastics.

The Surlyn Ren grade is produced from bio-waste such as used cooling oil, while Surlyn Cir grade contains chemically recycled plastic waste. Both grades are ISCC Plus certified according to the mass balance scheme. Dow claims the recycled and bio grades continue to deliver the properties that give the unique look, feel, and performance that the Surlyn line, based on fossil feedstocks, is known for.

LVMH Beauty, a division of luxury conglomerate LVMH, will be the first user of the new grades following the brand’s announced collaboration with Dow earlier this year. Dow has started to supply the new sustainable Surlyn ionomer grades, which will be integrated into several of the multinational’s applications.

“Surlyn Ren and Surlyn Cir are a major step forward in creating sustainable packaging for the cosmetic industry,” said Daniella Souza Miranda, global business director for Circular & Renewable Solutions at Dow. “These products will not only support LVMH towards their sustainability goals but will also contribute to Dow’s bold ambition to transform waste and deliver 3 million metric tons per year of circular and renewable solutions by 2030,” she added.

We remind, Dow, Inc. (Midland, Mich.) and LanzaTech Global, Inc. (Chicago, Ill.) have partnered to commercialize a biobased surfactant for the homecare market. The surfactant will leverage LanzaTech’s biorecycling technology, which employs proprietary bacteria to consume carbon-rich pollution from industrial facilities, such as steelmaking plants, and convert it into chemicals, including ethanol. This ethanol can be converted into ethylene oxide, and subsequently used to produce surfactants.

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MRC -- A massive fire broke out at a plastic waste site in the Croatian city of Osijek, Reuters said.

The city’s Civil Protection Directorate said that the fire erupted in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting firefighters to extract 1,500 liters of sodium lye and 1,000 liters of hydrochloride from the site.

A total of 74 firefighters and 33 fire engines are involved in the fire extinguishing operation and citizens have been warned against the harmful effects of the gases produced by the burning plastic.

Osijek Mayor Ivan Radic told the local media that the fire continues to rage and that they expect the extinguishing efforts to continue until the evening hours.

Due to the strong wind, the smoke reached the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two firefighters were slightly injured by the fire.

We remind, at least 37 people, including two pregnant women, were burned to death after a blast at an illegal oil refinery in southern Nigeria. Illegal refining is common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria as impoverished locals tap pipelines to make fuel to sell for a profit. The practice, which can be as basic as boiling crude oil in drums to extract fuel, is often deadly.

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MRC -- Invista will begin shutting down it's production facility in Orange right away, closing it and eliminating more than 200 jobs by the end of 2024, said Plasticsnews.

Shutdown of the company's adiponitrile, or ADN, production unit in Orange will begin right away according to a news release from the company. The company made the announcement on Thursday according to a news release on its website.

Invista says it expects to stop production of hexamethylene diamine, or HMD, in mid-2024. The cause for the shutdown is being blamed on low demand and higher supply.

"Unfortunately, lower than anticipated growth and an increase in global supply led to this difficult decision," Francis Murphy, INVISTA president and CEO, was quoted as saying in the release.

By the end of 2024 about 240 of the facility's current 300 jobs will be eliminate the company said. All employees who are losing a job will be eligible for severance benefits. "We appreciate the diligent and innovative work of employees at the Orange site over the years," Murphy said in the news release. The company says that it is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect as the facility is shut down.

We remind, Invista (Wichita, Kan.) announced that INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. held the inauguration ceremony for its new adiponitrile (ADN) plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). Being a critical part of INVISTA’s integrated nylon 6,6 value chain, the plant, which is a more than 7 billion RMB (over 1 billion USD) investment, has a capacity of 400,000-ton/year and is the largest capital project in in the company’s history.

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MRC -- Turkish-Belgian chemical recycling company Synpet Technologies has announced plans to construct its first commercial recycling plant in Antwerp, said Sustainableplastics.

Synpet, with the backing of the Kolmar Group - that acquired a stake in the company in a first capital round - will be investing some €100m in the project. The investment also gives Kolmar the exclusive right to the output of the new plant, under a supply agreement signed in October 2022.

Kolmar CEO Ruth Sandelowsky commented at that time that the investment supported Kolmar’s strategic ambition is to invest in renewable, bio and low carbon technologies to gain access to the associated products and markets, and to serve the chemical markets continuing and evolving needs. “This presents an opportunity to Kolmar to create service provision with access to pyrolysis oil, supply chain optionality, and optionality with cracker operators,” she said.

Synpet originally intended to build the facility in Genk (Belgium), but has now opted for Antwerp - ‘one of Europe's largest and most intensive petrochemical clusters' - instead. The companies have said they are aiming for start-up of the new plant in 2025. The project is expected to create around 70 jobs in Antwerp.

This first plant will have an initial capacity to process 180,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste per year but the partners are striving for more, saying they aim reach a global processing capacity of 1,000,000 tonnes of plastic waste by 2030.

Founded in 2024, Synpet Technologies has developed proprietary technology that decomposes plastics and other various waste types to form pure hydrocarbons using water as the reagent, at a specific pressure and temperature in a wet environment. Unlike other processes such as pyrolysis or gasification, Synpet Technologies’ TCP (Thermal Conversion Process) process is extremely efficient and has the great competitive advantage of not requiring any sorting, drying or pre-treatment of waste upstream. All waste, whatever its quality, is eligible. As long as it contains carbon, the process is capable of processing it. At the end of the process, four products are obtained: renewable oil (naphtha) which can replace petroleum naphtha to produce new plastics and can create a true circular economy; natural gas with a high calorific value that can be used for thermal and electrical energy; biochar that can be used as fertiliser in agriculture or as a raw material, for example in cement kilns to replace coal and reduce general CO2 emissions; and a liquid organic fertiliser if the technology is applied to materials containing nitrogen, phosphorus, etc., which are present in household waste and municipal sewage sludge.

A 15-tonne demo production unit has been operating since 2016 near Istanbul in Turkey. It has been tested and validated by the German certification office TUV-SUD and various petrochemical companies.

We remind, Synpet Technologies wants to build a plastic waste recycling plant in Genk, it announced in a press release. The unit is expected to be operational in 2024 and employ around 70 people. Synpet has been working on its plastic waste recycling process since 2014. All waste containing carbon is targeted, including dirty non-recyclable plastics.

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